10 years ago, Virginia Tech changed.

10 years ago, Virginia Tech lost 32 Hokies. It did not lose its community, but was strengthened in the loss and grief in the students, faculty, and numerous other support.

10 years ago, Virginia Tech became something so much bigger than a university or "that school that had a school shooting." It became a a family. Virginia Tech became one. Virginia Tech became united.

10 years later, we will neVer forgeT.

I wasn't a Hokie 10 years ago. I barely knew what Virginia Tech was. If we're being honest, I didn't know there was a shooting. But when I came to Virginia Tech, I could see how this one event could impact so many lives today. For those who don't know, a lone gunman walked openly on campus and took open fire on countless Hokies in Norris Hall and West Ambler Johnston Hall, killing 32 innocent students and faculty. They were normal students, just like you and me, sitting in class on one morning. They were coming from their off-campus apartments or dorm room, probably grabbed an iced coffee from Dunkin, met up with their friends, and strolled in class like it was any other day. No one would ever know that Virginia Tech -and their lives- would change forever.

I walk by Burruss Hall almost every day. I walk by the memorial. I stop and take the beautiful sight of Virginia Tech's Drill Field, Pylons, and the Hokie Stone in. I thank VT every day for allowing me into their precious community that they have built up here. I thank VT for not just being a university, but a place where you call home. Virginia Tech is home.

"While 32 of our friends and classmates are in Heaven trying to explain what a Hokie is, I stand here sure in the fact that I wouldn’t want to be anything else."